Droid Life » Chameleonhttp://www.droid-life.com
An intense Android news community bringing you the latest in phones, rooting, apps, and reviews.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:59:00 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Wednesday Poll: What Android Launcher Are You Currently Using?http://www.droid-life.com/2013/03/27/wednesday-poll-what-android-launcher-are-you-currently-using/
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/03/27/wednesday-poll-what-android-launcher-are-you-currently-using/#commentsWed, 27 Mar 2013 23:39:44 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=102967Wednesday Poll: What Android Launcher Are You Currently Using? is a post from: Droid Life
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It has been way too long since we last asked our community members what their favorite Android launcher was. Since the last time we asked, there are a few newcomers to the game who have certainly taken some of that marketshare away from the big dogs. Apparently the last time we asked, Nova Launcher wasn’t even on the scene, so that should definitely change things up.

If you answer “Other”, please let us know in the comments which launcher you are using.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Chameleon Launcher received quite the significant update this afternoon for Kickstarter backers and pre-orderees. In the update, we finally get phone support, so this app is no longer just a tablet exclusive. No, sir. We also get a brand new name, well, sort of. This is version 2 of the app, so it shall now be know as Chameleon Launcher 2. Clever.

Phone support is clearly the biggest announcement here, but users across the board will find things like Folders and “Linked Folders,” app launcher widgets, redesigned contextual dashboards, performance improvements, and many updates to Chameleon widgets. There aren’t any new widgets per se, as the team was focusing on “strengthening the core experience.”

I will say that after taking a lengthy break from Chameleon, I can easily see the progress that has been made in this new beta. Transitions and menus are more fluid and beautiful, the feature set has really grown, and the overall product feels like a professionally done home replacement, something I wouldn’t be caught dead saying about it a few months ago.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2013/03/07/video-hands-on-with-chameleon-launcher-2-for-phones/feed/24Video: Sneak Peek at the New Chameleon Launcher Beta on Nexus 4 and 7http://www.droid-life.com/2013/02/15/video-sneak-peek-at-the-new-chameleon-launcher-beta-on-nexus-4-and-7/
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/02/15/video-sneak-peek-at-the-new-chameleon-launcher-beta-on-nexus-4-and-7/#commentsFri, 15 Feb 2013 16:29:49 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=98823Video: Sneak Peek at the New Chameleon Launcher Beta on Nexus 4 and 7 is a post from: Droid Life
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The team behind Chameleon Launcher sent out a Kickstarter update this morning to show off a couple of sneak peek videos for a new beta that should become available within a couple of weeks. One of those videos (embedded above) is a look at the new beta running on a Nexus 4, which means the phone version of this 3rd party launcher is finally arriving some three months after it was first teased.

According to the Kickstarter update, this new Chameleon required some “radical experience and interface re-work,” in order to make the best experience for both phones and tablets.

Be sure to check out both videos, one of which is on a Nexus 7, and they stay tuned for the release of the beta.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2013/02/15/video-sneak-peek-at-the-new-chameleon-launcher-beta-on-nexus-4-and-7/feed/24Chameleon Launcher on Sale for $4, Also Shown Off on Phoneshttp://www.droid-life.com/2013/01/09/chameleon-launcher-on-sale-for-4-also-shown-off-on-phones/
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/01/09/chameleon-launcher-on-sale-for-4-also-shown-off-on-phones/#commentsWed, 09 Jan 2013 19:20:38 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=94860Chameleon Launcher on Sale for $4, Also Shown Off on Phones is a post from: Droid Life
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Taking just a moments break from the CES news, I saw that Chameleon Launcher for Android was on sale through Google Play and wanted to give everyone a quick heads up. Chameleon is an alternative home launcher that was funded through Kickstarter and usually sells for about $10.

It’s a neat launcher, offering up a completely new way of utilizing screen real estate, and revolves around good looking widgets and sexy wallpapers. To top it off, the developers recently made a video showing off the launcher on a Galaxy S3, which is a nice change of pace given it has been exclusively for tablets for some time.

The day has come, Chameleon Launcher has finally landed on Google Play for Android tablets. We’ve been following the project for some time, even back when it was a little ol’ Kickstarter idea. Now, it’s on Google Play for $10.26! For those that may scream, “Overpriced!” we wouldn’t necessarily disagree, but then again, if a completely re-imagined launcher alternative is what you’re looking for, this is a great application.

It’s main focus is on personalization through widgets and colors. We’ve had the donation version for about a month now and it’s been getting better and better. If you end up taking the plunge, let us know what you think down below. It’s still nice to have options.

If you happen to be a part of the Chameleon launcher beta, then you’ll be happy to know that a new update was published last night to Google Play. Inside there are a ton of bug fixes along with some added features. Taking center stage is the ability to use custom wallpapers (finally), no longer needing your Google Play password for verification, and they have also laid the groundwork for many more widgets to come in future updates.

They haven’t given specifics on which widgets we can expect to see, but we look forward to it. Here is the full (huge) changelog:

Here are some of the things we’ve fixed/improved:

Added ability to use custom wallpapers.

Internet connection is no longer required when starting Chameleon.

Users no longer need to enter their Google Play password during verification.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/17/chameleon-launcher-beta-updated-custom-wallpapers-and-plenty-more-inside/feed/18Video: First Look at Chameleon for Androidhttp://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/02/video-first-look-at-chameleon-for-android/
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/02/video-first-look-at-chameleon-for-android/#commentsFri, 03 Aug 2012 01:56:26 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=78110Video: First Look at Chameleon for Android is a post from: Droid Life
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Chameleon for Android, a Kickstarter funded tablet home replacement app, has entered into its beta stage, which means that the 7,000 people that pre-ordered it will soon get an invite to start testing. Others have been hand-selected to test the app, a group that we were lucky enough to be a part of.

As is customary around these parts, we like to take apps that have generated a substantial amount of buzz for a test drive to see if they can live up to the hype. While this is still beta, the Chameleon team is confident enough in it to at least let people start to play with it.

It’s definitely feeling good, aside from a couple of minor bugs that shouldn’t be hard to fix. The quickness is there, the few widgets that are available look good enough, and some of the features like the scrollable app dock at the bottom are solid features. We are seeing some limitations as far as widgets, wallpapers and folders go, however, the only direction for Chameleon to go from here is up. There is definitely potential to be reached. Since this is a beta, this would be the time to start requesting features and reporting bugs.

To give you our first impressions on it, we tossed together this video.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/02/video-first-look-at-chameleon-for-android/feed/61Chameleon Launcher Beta Begins to Roll Out – Another Month Until Official Launch, Already Looks Greathttp://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/02/chameloen-launcher-beta-begins-to-roll-out-another-month-until-official-launch-already-looks-great/
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/02/chameloen-launcher-beta-begins-to-roll-out-another-month-until-official-launch-already-looks-great/#commentsFri, 03 Aug 2012 00:01:10 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=78105Chameleon Launcher Beta Begins to Roll Out – Another Month Until Official Launch, Already Looks Great is a post from: Droid Life
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Beta downloads for the Chameleon launcher are beginning to roll out to Kickstarter backers and Beta testers. We’ve had hands-on for about 10 minutes now and so far, it’s pretty fantastic. It is minimal, smooth, and offers exactly what we wanted – quick access to news, emails, and social media. Word is that the team is “still a month out” from an official launch, but we can already tell they’re pretty close to a final product.

We will go through the app thoroughly and will come back soon with a full overview of this new launcher. For those who pre-ordered or are part of the Beta, you can access the Beta site down below and also download your beta copy of the app on the Google Play store.

We are only a few weeks away from the beta of Chameleon arriving in the Play Store for those that pre-ordered. In an update released by the Chameleon team today, we get a look at an “almost beta” version of their tablet home replacement software, which probably closely resembles what we’ll see when it is released.

The UI has been cleaned up and performance has been greatly improved. One of the comments we have seen quite regularly when posting about this software, has to do with the lag when doing almost anything. If you take a look at this new video, you will see one of the more polished versions yet with much less lag.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/27/chameleon-inches-closer-to-beta-shows-off-cleaner-and-speedier-ui/feed/21Chameleon Beta Arriving “Beginning of August” for Those That Pre-orderedhttp://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/19/chameleon-beta-arriving-beginning-of-august-for-those-that-pre-ordered/
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/19/chameleon-beta-arriving-beginning-of-august-for-those-that-pre-ordered/#commentsThu, 19 Jul 2012 18:54:11 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=76625Chameleon Beta Arriving “Beginning of August” for Those That Pre-ordered is a post from: Droid Life
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Backers of Chameleon, the Android tablet home replacement app, mark “beginning of August” on your calendars. Announced today through the Chameleon blog over at Kickstarter, a beta version will be made available in the coming weeks to all those that pre-ordered the app. It will be published through the Play Store, which we are assuming means there will be some sort of login process in order to activate it. Otherwise, it would be a free-for-all and defeat the purpose of it being a beta.

We have written about this app countless times, so this early arrival of a beta is greatly welcomed.

The popular, yet still to be released, Android launcher called Chameleon is shown off on a Nexus 7 running Jelly Bean. With that Tegra 3 chip inside, it’s running smooth and beautifully which makes the wait for release even more unbearable. No date has been given yet on launch, but you can pre-order the skin from their official website for $10.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/17/video-chameleon-launcher-up-and-running-on-nexus-7-with-jelly-bean/feed/69Chameleon Launches New Kickstarter, Hopefully This One Works Outhttp://www.droid-life.com/2012/06/14/chameleon-launches-new-kickstarter-hopefully-this-one-works-out/
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/06/14/chameleon-launches-new-kickstarter-hopefully-this-one-works-out/#commentsThu, 14 Jun 2012 19:40:56 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=72793Chameleon Launches New Kickstarter, Hopefully This One Works Out is a post from: Droid Life
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Chameleon, the home replacement solution for tablets that was all the rage back in mid-May, has relaunched today through Kickstarter after running into a funding situation the first time around. According to its creators, one of their team members, who had initially setup the Amazon funding solution through Kickstarter, left the team which caused them to have to close the original project. Since the backing and funding process through Kickstarter involves credit card information, setting up a new project and simply transferring everyone’s backing amount was not an option. Hopefully that made sense.

What you need to know, is that this new Kickstarter page is live and you can head on over and back it today if you’d like. They still expect to have it ready for backers by the end of August.

Chameleon has taken to the ever-present Kickstarter to get their project up and running, and has another update with how things are coming along to whet our appetites. These are the guys behind the Blackberry Playbook’s UI and they are taking a different spin on Android tablets and their interfaces. Their latest video shows off the selection of their widgets across their easily dividable interface. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds can be added and moved around very easily, and look good while doing it. The project is still pretty far away from their goal on Kickstarter, but you can get the application itself for as low as $5, or more if you’re looking to donate to the project.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/29/chameleon-gives-an-update-via-kickstarter-shows-off-widgets-and-smooth-layout/feed/15Chameleon For Android Tablets Isn’t New, But You Can Back It on Kickstarter and Get It Earlyhttp://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/17/chameleon-for-android-tablets-isnt-new-but-you-can-back-it-on-kickstarter-and-get-it-early/
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/17/chameleon-for-android-tablets-isnt-new-but-you-can-back-it-on-kickstarter-and-get-it-early/#commentsThu, 17 May 2012 15:08:35 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=70001Chameleon For Android Tablets Isn’t New, But You Can Back It on Kickstarter and Get It Early is a post from: Droid Life
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A newish tablet UI called Chameleon, that we first reported back in mid-March, is now seeking backers via Kickstarter. The tablet UI was once just a side project, but after receiving enough feedback during their initial preview, they decided to make it come to life, hence the need for funding.

If you are not familiar with Chameleon, think of it as a living set of tablet screens. It can adjust based on data connection, location, time of day, etc. But rather than just being a blank slate of emptiness (aka normal Android tablets), it can be customized using live tiles with weather, Twitter, photos, Gmail, calendars, and more. Using gestures, you can swipe around to activate functions, flip home screens or launch into your app drawer. It really is quite the interesting take on a tablet UI, and one that we fully support as a team that tends to get bored with the stock Android tablet experience.

So, why the Kickstarter? Again, they need to funding to make it happen. If you support them, they will give you early access to it before being published to the Google Play store. It will cost you $5 to get in on that, but if previous UI overhauls are any indication on price, this thing could sell for much more.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/17/chameleon-for-android-tablets-isnt-new-but-you-can-back-it-on-kickstarter-and-get-it-early/feed/25Chameleon for Android, the Next Step in the Evolution of Tablet Homescreenshttp://www.droid-life.com/2012/03/14/chameleon-for-android-the-next-step-in-the-evolution-of-tablet-homescreens/
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/03/14/chameleon-for-android-the-next-step-in-the-evolution-of-tablet-homescreens/#commentsWed, 14 Mar 2012 16:00:23 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=64290Chameleon for Android, the Next Step in the Evolution of Tablet Homescreens is a post from: Droid Life
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When we come across these projects that haven’t yet made it to the public, we sometimes begin to hold our breath. Other UI concepts have been created that had the Android community pumped up, only to be bought out and never see the light of day. Let us hope that does not happen to this newest concept, Chameleon for Android. From the same folks who designed the BlackBerry Playbooks’s UI, comes a “launcher” or interface that looks to come straight out of the future.

Chameleon incorporates useful and good looking widgets to allow the user to have everything they want/need, in a well-designed layout. Features such as facial recognition for different account holders is something that will make this launcher a huge success. If your family shares a tablet at home, then each user can have a separate account and layout for how they see fit. Crossing fingers that a manufacturer picks this up and throws it on as their skin.

So the question is when can we throw our money at them. Unfortunately, all we have to go on is someone n XDA saying “coming very soon.” So until then, what do you think? Does it look awesome and something you would want to have on your tablet?